Do you prefer your men macho or nerdy?
March 17th 2010 10:08
The question is one which apparently has received insufficient attention in the past, so psychologists from Scotland's University of Aberdeen decided to look into it. Specifically, they tested a theory that macho tendencies in men are a sign of genetic health, and that this in turn affects women who instinctively look for mates likely to produce offspring with the best chance of survival.
The psychologists got on the internet and recruited more than 4,500 women, all in their early 20s, spread around 30 countries. Things then got simple. The women were shown 20 pairs of photographs, each pair of the same guy but with features photoshopped to make the man look nerdy (slim-jawed and feminine) in one and macho (square-jawed and masculine) in the other.
What the study found was that preference for stubbled hunks declined the healthier the society. The study used the "national health index", a basket of indices developed by the World Health Organisation, to relate the findings, and discovered that the lower a country's NHI rating, the more that country's women were attracted to the strong, silent and hairy knuckle-draggers.
"Our prediction was correct," lead researcher Lisa DeBruine said. "Women from countries with poorer health did prefer masculine men more."
In other words, the fact that mating choices differ from country to country, and culture to culture, is due entirely to political and socio-economic considerations. Underneath all that, women share the same biological drive.
The research went further, however, in determining that women who choose macho men as a preferable influence in the pre-natal arena, do not necessarily see that same man as a positive, or even necessary, fixture in the post-natal process.
"Indeed, there is compelling evidence that women ascribe antisocial traits and behaviours to masculine men," says the study. "Women perceive masculine men as dishonest, uncooperative, more interested in short-term than long-term relationships, and even as 'bad parents'."
The results of the study, we fear, will come as no surprise to many woman.
Agence France Presse; picture: images.buycostumes.com
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